After Groupon declined Google’s $6 billion bid, the search giant, who’s evidently very eager to tap into the online coupon world, is on the hunt to acquire an alternative, as the New York Times reported.

“Although LivingSocial, which also generates significant cash, may be an attractive alternative for Google, a takeover deal would not come cheap or easy…At the time, the company reiterated its commitment to flying solo.”

While LivingSocial is number two after Groupon, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any worthy deals out there.  Local online advertising is expected to grow to $16.1 billion in 2011 meaning that this is one market worth investing in.

“The fact that Google was willing to spend as much as $6 billion for Groupon… shows that the search giant knows it has some holes to fill, and was prepared to spend a bundle to do so”

Gigaom’s analysis also covers the fact the combination of Google’s advertising efforts and influence with local advertising efforts has the potential to bring in some serious revenue for the search giant, consequently filling in some gaps in the company’s offerings portfolio. Groupon and evidently LivingSocial are currently not viable options for Google to consider, but others such as Tripper and BuyWithMe has also been noted by sources.

siliconANGLE also covered the growing trend of group-buying and crowdsourcing here:

“Many companies have begun to follow the suit, even taking group-deals into specialized verticals, like mobile gaming. OpenFeint is an eloquent example for switching to group-deal, in order to sell its mobile games.”

OpenFient is just one example, as the Vancouver deal site, Delightdaily.com which offers up to 70%-worth local discounts and the 1200+ Asian clone sites which appeared after Group’s launch in the region provide some of the remaining ones. There is a huge market for coupons, especially ones with none or minimal requirements from the user perspective, as Google is planning on entering it.